Power is currently split in Congress with Republicans controlling the Senate for now though this could change pending Georgia Senate runoff elections in January and the Democrats who took control of the House in the midterms.
Given the above system, this makes it extremely difficult to pass laws. Thank you, Georgia! Now on to the next fight, when we take back the Senate on Jan 5. The Senate has unique powers compared to the House and for this reason is often considered more prestigious. The Senate also has the power to approve treaties with foreign countries. In general, the House tends to be more concerned with taxes and spending , awarding it a lot of influence when it comes to the national purse.
Currently Democrats hold power in the lower chamber and it looks likely to stay that way in Impeachment hearings must begin in the House , later moving up to the Senate, where the upper chamber tries the case, acting as a court. At least two thirds of Senators must find a president guilty to successfully impeach them. The vice president serves as president of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate, so from January Kamala Harris may have the power to cast a deciding vote in the upper house.
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House of Representatives each represent a portion of their state known as a Congressional District, which averages , people. Senators however, represent the entire state. How do the House and Senate chambers differ? In the House of Representatives, the majority party holds significant power to draft chamber rules and schedule bills to reach the floor for debate and voting.
In most cases, House rules will limit debate so that important legislation can be passed during one legislative business day. In the Senate however, the majority has the power to schedule when various bills come to the floor for voting but a single Senator can slow legislation from coming to the floor for a vote.
Since debate in the Senate is not concluded until 60 senators vote for a cloture motion to approve a bill for consideration, the majority must also coordinate with the minority part to set the rules for debate on legislation. Under this system, legislation can be debated for one or two weeks on the Senate floor alone. Why does Congress use the committee system? Congress deals with a broad variety of different policy issues and it is more efficient to have work done at the committee level than on the House or Senate floor.
In addition, this system allows members to gain expertise in specific issue areas they are interested in. We are not taking tour reservations at this time. Please check out our video tours and other online resources. All products are Made-in-the-USA, and many are created exclusively for our store. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
The procedure that Congress must follow to enact legislation is described in Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. However, most bills originate in the offices of one or more of their legislative sponsors.
Once the bill is released by the committee, representatives or senators debate it and propose amendments or other changes prior to putting the bill to a vote. After both chambers accept the bill, joint committees work out the differences between the two versions. Both houses then vote on the exact same bill.
The president has 10 days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White House for approval. A presidential veto prevents the legislation from taking effect. Congress has the power to override a presidential veto by a two-thirds majority vote of both the House and Senate.
If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes law. The framers of the Constitution worked carefully to ensure that the powers wielded by the three branches of government — legislative, executive, and judicial — were carefully balanced so that the duties of each branch were clear and no one branch would overpower the other two. While few constitutional experts and political scholars would argue that the bicameral legislative system works perfectly, most would agree that the formulation has stood the test of time.
Skip to main content. Apply Program Guide. Article I of the U. Constitution: Difference Between House and Senate The framers of the Constitution knew that it was important to protect the smaller states of the newly formed Union from being overshadowed by their more populous counterparts.
Article I, Section 2: Composition and Function of the House of Representatives Article I of the Constitution specifies the powers, duties, and responsibilities of each of the two houses of Congress. Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements Representatives: Must be at least 25 years old. Must be citizens for at least seven years. Are elected to a two-year term. Must be residents of the states they represent. Allotment of representatives based on population Originally, the number of representatives was set at 1 per 30, inhabitants, but the representative count has since increased , as the U.
Power to devise its own rules of operation The Constitution allows each house of Congress to set its own rules. The Library of Congress summarizes the operating rules of the House of Representatives: Only a numerical majority is required to pass legislation in the House, which allows bills to be processed quickly. By contrast, Senate votes typically require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes in favor. Majority party leaders in the House control the priority of various policies and determine which bills make their way to the House floor for debate.
In the Senate, minority party leaders have more influence over such procedures, so the majority leaders must work more closely with them. Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements The Constitution requires that senators be at least 30 years old, U. Allotment of Senators: Two per State As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to allow each state to be represented by two senators was to prevent the large states from overpowering their smaller counterparts.
Power to devise its own rules of operation The Senate has the constitutional authority to set its own rules, just as the House does. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the careful discussion and consideration, of issues.
Majority party leaders in the Senate propose the priority of items to be debated, but they must work with minority party leaders — and often all senators — to determine the floor agenda: the order in which items are brought before the Senate. Vice president as president of the Senate The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, but the vice president is allowed to vote only to break a tie. The S. Capitol Visitor Center features a study guide that explains the difference between the House and Senate.
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